Clothes - Pt 5

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:1-6 ESV). When I officed from my home there were occasions when my clients would come in and immediately begin taking their shoes off. They would always explain that they felt they were too dirty to walk on the carpet with them. That was very respectful, however completely unnecessary. Our reading today points to another example of an article of clothing mentioned in the Bible, Moses’ sandals. While tending his flocks, Moses saw a shrub on fire, yet not burning up. Curious, he approached the shrub. God called out from the fire: “Moses, Moses! Don’t come too close. And take off your sandals, this is holy ground.” Moses obeys. God always took ceremonial cleanliness seriously. Later in the Old Testament, God kills Israelites for disobeying his instructions about the need for cleanliness in approaching his holiness. There is something much deeper here than ceremony however. Moses removing his sandals reminds us that sinful people are unfit to stand before a holy God, except on his terms. We are simply not “clothed” appropriately for that encounter. Fast-forward several centuries. Jesus heals the sick, raises the dead, and proclaims good news. Jesus’ disciple, Peter, recognizes that he’s the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. One memorable evening in an upper room, Peter took off his sandals in God’s presence. But this time, Jesus, God incarnate, wants to wash Peter’s feet. It was customary for the host of the meal to provide this service for those who were in attendance. There is something much going on here though. Peter knows he’s undeserving. But Jesus says, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me” (cf. John 13:8). So Peter readily agrees. Peter understood that in order to approach a holy God, we must be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus. He alone makes us clean enough to stand in God’s presence. God does have certain “dress codes” to attend the royal court of heaven; and, he makes sure to provide it for us through his work of grace!